Sheriff looks to alleviate testing 'backlog'

Published: Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 3:50 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 3:50 p.m.

The Davidson County Sheriff's Office may soon start paying another regional law enforcement agency to conduct lab testing of select drug cases.

Davidson County commissioners approved a request Tuesday to transfer $10,000 in seized forfeiture funds, which will be used to pay the Iredell County Sheriff's Office for testing.

Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said the State Bureau of Investigation, which has historically provided most of the office's testing, is so "backlogged" that routine drug testing takes months to complete.

"We have one case, which involves some synthetic marijuana, that is more than 15 months old, and it's not been tested yet," Grice said.

That lag in turnover time directly translates to the courtroom, where court officials use those analyses to progress a case through the system.

"We've got a great number of drug cases waiting on analysis," said Davidson County District Attorney Garry Frank, adding that those testing results are critical to clearing a case. "We're going to try to pick some of the more substantial ones to get a quicker turnaround."

The Iredell County Sheriff's Office Crime Lab, which has been in operation for about five years, provides testing services for law enforcement agencies in about five different counties, said Capt. Mike Phillips of the Iredell County Sheriff's Office.

The lab, one of a handful of North Carolina's municipal and county crime labs that operate independently of the SBI, performs drug testing, print analysis, blood alcohol testing and arson analysis, Phillips said.

The lab was created to alleviate what Phillips also called a backlog of pending cases with the SBI.

"We didn't do it to try and badmouth anybody or cast a bad shadow on anyone," Phillips said. "We were just wanting quicker results."

In a letter to the Davidson County Board of Commissioners dated Jan. 2, Grice said the Iredell County Sheriff's Office can provide an eight- to 10-day turnover on drug tests. Each test will cost about $200, he said in the letter.

Former judge Joseph John, the acting director of the N.C. State Crime Lab, said he's not surprised local officials are concerned about testing times. He and his department are equally distraught, he said.

John said the lab is facing a "perfect storm" of inadequate staffing, spiraling case submissions and the time-consuming replications from a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision that requires analysts to testify in person instead of by affidavit.

"We are confronted with a very difficult and dire situation." John said. "We can't do the work we are legislatively charged with doing at the levels we are staffed at currently."

After being denied additional state funding last year, the SBI is again requesting the General Assembly appropriate close to $10 million over the next two fiscal years for new scientists, forensic supervisor and technician positions for the state's Triad and Western North Carolina facilities. The requested appropriation would also include a combined 12,600 square feet of leased lab space in the Triad and Western North Carolina area for the new positions, according to information provided by the SBI.

The state's crime labs employ about 124 scientists, John said. In 2011, the labs received in excess of 42,000 evidence submissions, which represented about a 15 percent increase over the previous year.

In addition, there has been no increase in personnel since 2007, John said.

"We are doing everything we can do to address this situation," John said, adding that staff is working mandatory overtime and through evidence management and efficiency strategies. "We're doing everything a responsible business would to see if we could alleviate this situation internally, but the numbers are such that we are going to require more personnel."

Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.

<p>The Davidson County Sheriff's Office may soon start paying another regional law enforcement agency to conduct lab testing of select drug cases.</p><p>Davidson County commissioners approved a request Tuesday to transfer $10,000 in seized forfeiture funds, which will be used to pay the Iredell County Sheriff's Office for testing.</p><p>Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said the State Bureau of Investigation, which has historically provided most of the office's testing, is so "backlogged" that routine drug testing takes months to complete.</p><p>"We have one case, which involves some synthetic marijuana, that is more than 15 months old, and it's not been tested yet," Grice said.</p><p>That lag in turnover time directly translates to the courtroom, where court officials use those analyses to progress a case through the system.</p><p>"We've got a great number of drug cases waiting on analysis," said Davidson County District Attorney Garry Frank, adding that those testing results are critical to clearing a case. "We're going to try to pick some of the more substantial ones to get a quicker turnaround."</p><p>The Iredell County Sheriff's Office Crime Lab, which has been in operation for about five years, provides testing services for law enforcement agencies in about five different counties, said Capt. Mike Phillips of the Iredell County Sheriff's Office.</p><p>The lab, one of a handful of North Carolina's municipal and county crime labs that operate independently of the SBI, performs drug testing, print analysis, blood alcohol testing and arson analysis, Phillips said.</p><p>The lab was created to alleviate what Phillips also called a backlog of pending cases with the SBI.</p><p>"We didn't do it to try and badmouth anybody or cast a bad shadow on anyone," Phillips said. "We were just wanting quicker results."</p><p>In a letter to the Davidson County Board of Commissioners dated Jan. 2, Grice said the Iredell County Sheriff's Office can provide an eight- to 10-day turnover on drug tests. Each test will cost about $200, he said in the letter.</p><p>Former judge Joseph John, the acting director of the N.C. State Crime Lab, said he's not surprised local officials are concerned about testing times. He and his department are equally distraught, he said.</p><p>John said the lab is facing a "perfect storm" of inadequate staffing, spiraling case submissions and the time-consuming replications from a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision that requires analysts to testify in person instead of by affidavit.</p><p>"We are confronted with a very difficult and dire situation." John said. "We can't do the work we are legislatively charged with doing at the levels we are staffed at currently."</p><p>After being denied additional state funding last year, the SBI is again requesting the General Assembly appropriate close to $10 million over the next two fiscal years for new scientists, forensic supervisor and technician positions for the state's Triad and Western North Carolina facilities. The requested appropriation would also include a combined 12,600 square feet of leased lab space in the Triad and Western North Carolina area for the new positions, according to information provided by the SBI.</p><p>The state's crime labs employ about 124 scientists, John said. In 2011, the labs received in excess of 42,000 evidence submissions, which represented about a 15 percent increase over the previous year.</p><p>In addition, there has been no increase in personnel since 2007, John said.</p><p>"We are doing everything we can do to address this situation," John said, adding that staff is working mandatory overtime and through evidence management and efficiency strategies. "We're doing everything a responsible business would to see if we could alleviate this situation internally, but the numbers are such that we are going to require more personnel."</p><p>Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.</p>